Index-cards



.J. A.- BEST.

INDEX CARDS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8,1918

Patented July 29, 1919.

WITNESSES f; a

H %8 m H mm M W m 5 m THE COLUMBIA PLANCIGRAPII co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

JOHN AUSTIN BEST, OF AUGUSTA, GEORGIA.

INDEX-CARDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 29, 1919..

Application filed July 8, 1918. Serial N 0. 243,952.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN AUSTIN Bns'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Augusta, in the countyof Richmond and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Index-Cards, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to card indexes, and more particularly to means whereby to effectively expose the upper edges of a series of cards, so that the indicia of the series will be simultaneously exposed and in this way avoid the necessity of turning or otherwise manipulating each indi vidual card for this purpose, as required in the usual card index.

.A further and more specific object of the present invention is to produce the above advantage by means of a particular construction of each card body without resorting to additional parts or attachments'of any character.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating the present invention,

Figure 1 is a face View of a series of cards, the construction of which constitutes one form of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 22 of Fig. 1 downwardly through the cards at their centers, the cards being spread to demonstrate the practical use of the invention,

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the cards of Fig. 1 in normal position,

Fig. 4 is a face view of a series of cards showing a slightly modified form,

Fig. 5 is an end view of a series of cards of Fig. 4, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are face views showing other slightly modified forms.

Referring now to these figures and particularly to Figs, 1, 2, and 3, my invention contemplates a card 10 cut away along one edge and at one side of its center as indicated at 11 and leaving an extension 12 at the opposite sidev of its center, the cut 11 being of substantially the depth of the extension 12 so that by reversing the cards in a series, the cut away portions 11 and extensions 12 of successive cards will alternate. In this way, by virtue of the fact that the extensions 12 lie who-11y at one side of the center of the card and the further fact that the cut away portions 11 are in length at least equal to the length of the said extensions, it is obvious that when pressure is the form of the applied to the edges of a series of cards so constructed, the extensions 12 will move into the cut away portions permitting the cards to pivot on one another adjacent their cut away edges in order that their opposite edges may be shifted away from one another and the indicia printed thereon may be simultaneously viewed.

While I have shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 cards having the extensions and cut away portions at the lower edges, it is possible to bring about the same result by applying the same construction to either of the side edges of the card, and in either event the upper edges may be either entirely plain or provided with half cuts 13 as plainly seen in Fig. 1 in order to better expose names on the upper edges of the cards.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 it is contemplated that the reversal will be an endwise one, while in invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 it is plain that endwise reversal need not be wholly depended upon, as the cut away portions and extensions above described, and as seen at 14 and 15 in connection with the cards 16 of Figs. 4 and 5 may be duplicated upon the opposite edges of the card, i. 6., may be placed upon the upper as well as the lower edges so that the cards may be reversed by turning the same com pletely over. In this form of the invention each card has its extensions 15 staggered, the extension of one edge being opposite the cut away portion of the other edge as will be plainly seen, but this is not by any means essential and the same results may be obtained by placing the duplicated extensions and cut away portions of each card opposite one another as seen in connection with the card 17 of Fig. 6 where the extensions appear at 18 and the cut away portions at 19.

It is furthermore obvious that the extended portions 20 of cards 21 as in Fig. 7 may be arranged opposite the extended portions 22 of half out upper edges instead of the staggered relation seen in Fig. 1.

In either form of the invention the extensions and cut away portions alternate throughout a series even though but a single form of card is necessary, the result being accomplished by reversing the cards so that when pressure is applied to their cut away edges the extensions will be received within the cut away portions permitting the relatively opposite edges of the cards to spread apart and expose their surfaces simultaneously to full View.

I claim:

1. A card index consisting of a series of similarly cut cards, each card having an extension and a void at its lower edge, the cards being arranged with their extensions and voids uniformly staggered throughout the series, and the extensions being movable into the voids to permit the cards to pivot on their lower edges.

2. A card index consisting of a plurality of cards, each having an extension and a void at the same edge, the cards being ar- Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the ranged so that the extensions and voids are regularly staggered throughout the series, the extensions being movable into the voids for the purpose described.

3. A card index consisting of a plurality of cards having similarly out opposite edges and arranged in alternately reversed rela-' tion forming alternating extensions and voids throughout the series.

JOHN AUSTIN BEST.

\Vitnesses:

E. J. MULHEIM, E. J. OCoNNon.

Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

